Coolsville Central: A Midsummer Afternoon Murder in Coolsville
by wsdsrdbw4096
Summary: Shinichi and Ran's sightseeing in Coolsville is brought to a halt when they encountered a murder scene on the city's light rail metro, during which they met the famed Mystery Inc. & the Detective Duo of Canada. Meanwhile, Daphne's birthday is coming up and Shaggy, William and Elizabeth had a surprise in store for her. Please read & review!
1. The bump and the derailment

**Author's note: This story takes inspiration from The Veronicas Music Is My Life's story _Detective Scooby Doo and the Cesis Murder Mystery_.**

 **While this story is a _Scooby-Doo_ crossover with _Detective Conan_ , there are a few points I want to take note of.**

 **First, I'm not really a huge fan of Detective Conan in comparison to Scooby-Doo, due to the suspense in the stories, particularly in the anime series. However, I have to admit that the stories are actually interesting, like how Shinichi investigated the roller coaster murder and how he ended up becoming Conan.**

 **Second, this story takes place after the fall of The Black Organization and Conan received an antidote in the APTX4869, which transformed him back to Shinichi, who then explained to Ran on everything that has happened to him, particularly on the drug that turned him into Conan.**

 **Third, this story is also partially inspired by the _Murdoch Mysteries_ Season 4 episode _The Black Hand_. In fact, the main murder scene in this story will resemble the murder scene from that episode, and this story will also incorporate some elements from _The Superstition Murders!_ from Batman Issue #8, first published in the winter of 1941, for the sub-mystery of the story.**

 **Finally, this story also features my FictionPress characters William Walter Wu and Elizabeth Lee, both of whom also appeared in my reimagining of _Scooby-Doo! Stage Fright!_ , and it will also cover how the gang and the Detective Duo of Canada met Shinichi and Ran. If you are curious about William and Elizabeth, you can check my Profile for their information.**

 **In the meantime, in addition to English, this story also features dialogue and thoughts in Chinese and Japanese, all of which are accompanied by English translations.**

 **Legend:**

中文 (Chinese), _日文_ (Japanese)

 **I don't own _Scooby-Doo_ or _Detective Conan_. They belonged to their respective owners.**

* * *

Chapter 1: A bump at the hotel and the derailment

 _August 20, 2012_

 _Location: Coolsville, Ohio, United States_

 **(Mystery Inc., William and Elizabeth)**

"Ah, so you guys have arrived at the railroad station?" Shaggy asked on the phone as Fred drove the Mystery Machine through downtown Coolsville.

There was a pause before he added, "Like, we're near the police headquarters on Constitution Avenue, so we should be there in about five minutes."

Another pause went by before Shaggy replied, "All right, so we'll see you there, Will." He then hung up.

"So have they arrived, Shag?" Daphne asked as Shaggy put away his cell phone.

"Like, yeah. William and Lizzy have just got off their train from Chicago." Shaggy nodded. "They told me that they'll be at the pick up/drop off area near the main entrance."

"Awesome!" Daphne smiled as Fred nodded.

"I sure can't wait to show them around the city, gang. That one-week stay back in May wasn't enough time for us to give them a full tour of the city, and they both have summer camps to attend throughout July and most of August, so now will be a good time for them to take a tour of Coolsville before school starts in September." Fred nodded in agreement.

"I agree." Velma nodded just as the Mystery Machine approaches Coolsville Central Railroad Station.

Soon, after greeting the Detective Duo of Canada with handshakes and hugs and helping them with their luggages, the Mystery Machine took off for the hotel the duo have booked to stay at, a hotel that is located in the outskirts of downtown Coolsville, near the former City of Glensburg, which ceased to exist as a city in Coolsville County following a municipal amalgamation that saw the City of Coolsville annexing the territory in the mid-1980s.

During the drive, William and Elizabeth both commented on their successfully receiving their pilot's license at camp, and the gang congratulated them on the accomplishment.

Eventually, the Mystery Machine arrived at the hotel, and after unloading William and Elizabeth's luggages, the gang promised to wait for the duo as they go into their hotel to check into their room.

The check in process didn't take long, and the duo were soon on the elevator to the fifth floor, where their room is located at.

As they exited the elevator, William unknowingly walked towards a teenage boy that was walking towards the elevator, causing them to bump into each other.

"Ohh!" William exclaimed when he bumped into the boy. "I'm terribly sorry, mister! Didn't watch where I was going."

"Oh, don't worry about that." The boy smiled, and William thought that he had detected a Japanese accent in his voice. The boy had a familiar-looking hairstyle with a patch of his dark brown hair covering the left side of his face. "I should have watched myself before going for the elevator."

After the exchange, William noticed that the boy was accompanied by a teenage girl with long dark brown hair, who bowed at him and Elizabeth as if to apologize to them about her friends clumsiness.

"Ah, it's okay." Elizabeth smiled as she raised her hand in a calming gesture. "It's not like that they bumped into each other while going up or down the stairs."

"Oh, yeah." The girl nodded as she, her friend and William laughed. Like her friend, William thought that she had a Japanese accent in her voice.

After telling each other to have a nice day, William and Elizabeth made their way down the hallway while the two Japanese teenagers made their way into the elevator.

As they made their way down the hallway, William commented, "咦?剛才我不小心撞到的那位日本男人看起來很熟悉。" (Eh? The Japanese gentleman I just accidentally bumped into looks quite familiar.)

"是不是我們以前有看過他嗎?" (Is it because we've seen him before?) Elizabeth asked.

"可能是吧。" (Maybe.) William replied as they arrived at their hotel room.

* * *

 **(Shinichi and Ran)**

Meanwhile, after accidentally bumping into a teenage boy with short, black hair and wearing glasses, Shinichi and Ran got onto the elevator.

During the elevator ride, Ran commented, " _新一，剛才不小心撞到你的那位男人看起來有點熟悉_ 。" (The gentleman that just accidentally bumped into you looks a little familiar, Shinichi.)

" _是啊。總覺得我們以前有看過他的。_ " (Yeah. It seems like we've seen him before.) Shinichi replied. " _而且我好像在他講話的口音中有聽到一個臺灣的腔調。_ " (And I think I may have heard a Taiwanese accent in his voice.)

Ran nodded as the elevator reached the main floor of the hotel, after making their way through the main lobby, the duo exited the hotel from the main entrance.

Seeing a brochure promoting the city's newly-opened gondola lift, Shinichi suggested, " _另外一方面，要不要去搭骷史城的新的觀光纜車線?_ " (In the meantime, want to go for a ride on Coolsville's new sightseeing gondola line?)

Seeing the brochure, Ran nodded. " _好啊!現在我們只需要知道要怎麼去。_ " (Certainly. We just need to figure out on how to get there.)

After consulting the electronic map of Coolsville on their smartphones, they figured that they can take the Light Metro at the nearby Mooresburg St. Station to Morris Park, the park where the gondola terminal is located at.

With that in mind, the duo proceeded to Mooresburg St. Station.

* * *

 **(Mystery Inc., William and Elizabeth)**

As the gang waited for William and Elizabeth to come out, Shaggy spotted two familiar-looking figures exiting the hotel.

"Say, like, that guy with the dark brown hair looks familiar." He commented as the two figures walked down the sidewalk.

"Who, Shag?" Daphne asked.

Shaggy pointed towards the two figures walking down the sidewalk, and Fred raised an eyebrow.

"You're right, Shag. It seems like we've seen him before, although I can't remember when or where."

Before Velma, Daphne and Scooby could comment on the matter, William and Elizabeth exited the hotel and got onto the Mystery Machine.

"I hope you guys didn't wait long." William commented as he closed the door.

"Ah, not really, Will." Velma replied.

"So where should we go?" Elizabeth asked excitingly.

"Like, perhaps we should go to the Malt Shop for a snack." Shaggy suggested. "Scoob and I are a little hungry."

"Oh, Shag." Elizabeth teased. "You and Scooby always think about food, eh?"

"Yep. Those two never changes when it comes to food." Daphne nodded as Fred shifted the van into drive.

* * *

 **(Shinichi and Ran)**

Meanwhile, a few miles away from the nearby Mooresburg Rd. Coolsville Light Metro station, an automatic light metro train set travelling eastbound was approaching the station.

Both rail cars were sparsely occupied by passengers, and some of them were waiting for the train to pull into the station's platform and get off at the station when something unexpected happened.

The first car jumped the tracks as it approached the track switch, leading it to derail and causing shaking inside the car.

"Oh my goodness! What's going on?" Some of the panicked passengers shouted as the train went off the tracks.

Seeing that the train is approaching a stopped westbound train, the passengers quickly raced towards the back end of the car before the collision.

In the chaos of trying to get to the back of the rail car, no one has noticed a man was still seated in his seat at the front.

* * *

All of the passengers at the station watched in shock and horror as the approaching eastbound train collides with the stopped westbound train.

Among the people watching the drama unfolding were Shinichi and Ran, and before any of them can get a sense of what to do, there was a scream.

"Somebody call 911!" One of the waiting passengers shouted when everyone saw the reason why there was the scream.

In the badly deformed front end of the eastbound train, was a man sandwiched between the two badly deformed frames of the two collided trains and covered in shattered glass. As Shinichi looked on, he can tell that the man is dead.

* * *

 **Uh, oh. Looks like there may be work for Shinichi/Conan. What will happen next? And how will the gang meet the famed Tokyo High School Detective?**

 **Stay tuned, and please read and review!**


	2. A hostile encounter with the police

Chapter 2: A hostile encounter with the police

 **(Mystery Inc., William and Elizabeth)**

Several moments later, the gang arrived at the Malt Shop and went with their usual orders for a light snack.

As the group enjoyed their milkshakes, William commented, "I sure can't believe that we're about to start our final year in high school."

"I agree." Velma agreed. "Time sure flies. I wonder if you guys got where you want to go to for university or college figured out yet?"

"For me, like, I'm planning on sticking with Coolsville Central College and go into the culinary arts program, medical science or journalism." Shaggy commented.

"All of those programs you mentioned sounds good, Shag." Elizabeth complimented. Turning to Fred and the girls, she added, "How about you guys?"

"Well, for me, I hope I go to the Massachusetts Institute for Technology in anything in the science and engineering field." Velma commented.

"As for me, like Shag, I'm planning on staying here and go into journalism or fashion arts." Daphne said.

"For me, I'm hoping to go into language studies or law." Fred replied.

"I see." William nodded, but before he could say something, they heard a loud crash.

"Jeepers, what was that?" Daphne asked.

"I don't know, but it sounded like two trains collided with each other." William replied.

* * *

After paying their bill, the group hopped onto the Mystery Machine and made their way down the street.

As they approached Mooresburg St. Light Metro Station, Fred saw a crowd of police cruisers with their emergency lights flashing stopped in front of the station.

"Say, there's something going on at the light metro station ahead, gang." He commented.

"Like, look at all of those police cruisers!" Shaggy commented. "Something big must be going on. Must be that crash we heard at the Malt Shop!"

Soon, the Mystery Machine stopped near a parked police cruiser and the two group of sleuths exited the van. One of the officers walked over to them as they did so.

"Like, what's the excitement all about, officer?" Shaggy asked the officer that approached them.

"Oh, there has been a collision between two Metro trains, and a guy got crushed between the two trains." The officer replied.

"Holy moly!" Fred exclaimed as the rest of the group exclaimed their catchphrases simultaneously. "We probably should check it out, gang."

The station was filled with patrol officers, and as the gang made their way to the platform, they can see the badly-crushed train ends formed resulted from the collision, and they saw a crew of emergency workers on standby right by the site of the collision, possibly waiting for the Jaws of Life to arrive to try to free a man's body from the wreckage.

As William and Elizabeth looked towards the wreckage, they spotted the Japanese teenage boy he bumped into back at the hotel and his friend.

"Say, you're the gentleman I bumped into back at the hotel!" The teenage boy said when he saw William, Elizabeth and the gang.

William nodded as he recognized the boy. "Oh, yes I remember. What happened here?"

"The train that was supposed to be arriving at the eastbound platform jumped the tracks as it approached the station, and then it collided with the stopped westbound train." The boy replied.

Just as the boy finished his description of the events that has occurred at the station, a voice suddenly said, "Oh, not you meddling kids again."

The gang, along with William, Elizabeth and the boy and his friend turned.

"Like, greetings, Sergeant Stone." Shaggy sighed as he recognizes Sergeant Bronson Stone, a patrol sergeant from the East Glensburg Division who never liked the gang's presence at a crime scene approaches them. In fact, he's one of several of the officers in the police department that disliked Chief of Police Sam Rogers' continued support of the gang.

"What do you think you're doing here?" Stone demanded as he approached the sleuths. "This place is a scene of an accident, so beat it!"

Just as the sergeant made the remark, the rescue workers equipped with the Jaws of Life arrived at the scene and wasted no time getting to work in rescuing the man crushed between the two trains.

However, when the man was freed, there was a huge gasp and a scream. It wasn't because the man was clearly dead, but because of something across his chest.

It was a bullet hole.

In panic, the boy's friend grabbed his hand nervously, Scooby jumped onto Shaggy's arms in fright while Daphne hid behind him as Fred and Velma looked on in horror. Neither of them had seen a scene like this before, and only William, Elizabeth and the boy maintained calm looks on their faces, which betrayed the surprise they felt when they saw the bullet hole.

"Like, wh-wh-what i-i-is th-th-the m-m-m-matter wi-wi-with..." Shaggy asked, experiencing a loss of words as a result of the shock of the sight in front of him.

William and the boy looked at each other after examining the body.

"I know that wound in that man's chest." William said. "That is clearly a bullet wound."

"Indeed." The boy agreed. "The ruins around the hole suggested that something in the speed of a bullet has entered the man's chest."

"You don't suppose this is..." Elizabeth trailed off.

"I'm afraid it is." The boy replied.

"Yeah." William agreed. "Looks like a murder to me."

"Exactly what I'm thinking." The boy said.

"Murder?" Stone asked as he over heard the boys' comments. "What do you mean it's a murder?"

"Are you blind, officer?" The boy asked. "There's clearly a bullet hole in that mans chest!"

"Listen, just because there is a hole in the man's chest doesn't mean that he was shot, Mr. Kudo." Stone retorted as he recognized the boy. "He could've gotten a sharp object like a pole right through his chest during the accident, and all of the wounds on his body pointed to being crushed by the two trains. You may be a famous detective back in your home country, wherever that is, but here, even with that Interpol Special Police Services badge you've got, you have no authority."

"I beg to differ, sergeant." William crossed his arms as he came to the boys defense. "If you take a closer look at the body, sergeant, particularly at the injuries sustained during the crush, you will notice that there has been no sign of a struggle. Either the victim was completely pinned by the two trains to the point that he couldn't move, or he was dead even before the trains collided, which then brings us to the hole on the victim's chest and the pool of blood on the seat where the victim was seated at prior to the collision."

Putting on his laser pointer ring on his left index finger, William pointed at the wreckage with the laser beam pointing at it as he continued, "Now, if you take a closer look at the wreckage area where the victim was crushed, you will notice that there isn't much blood on the steel. But then, when you take a look at the seat the victim was seated at prior to impact, you will notice that there is a pool of blood." By that point, he was pointing at the exposed seat of the eastbound train.

"That pool of blood on the seat where the victim was seated at is large enough to make it likely that the victim was already bleeding prior to the collision, and adding in the gunshot on the chest further indicates that the victim was already dead before the trains collided. Therefore, when you put two and two together, you can conclude that the man was a victim of murder, sergeant." The teenage boy added and concluded as William nodded in agreement. "Which also means that you should call in the detectives to investigate this."

In spite of the conclusion the sleuths have made, Stone refused to back down. "Oh, is that right? Then how is it that any of the witnesses didn't hear a gunshot? If there hasn't been a gunshot, that could only mean one thing: The man was stabbed right in the chest when the trains collided, period! There's nothing to worry about, other than the cause of the derailment."

"Nothing to worry about, eh?" Elizabeth asked. "I disagree. That hole in his chest clearly indicates that he was shot, and yet you still believe that he was stabbed in the chest when the two trains collided?"

"Like, I wonder how did you get your badge if you can't tell whether the man was a victim of a homicide or not?" Shaggy added, the tone in his voice indicating that he will inform his father about Stone's conduct, while Scooby growled at him.

The duo may be chicken-hearted, but they never hesitated to stand up for their friends whenever they faced a corrupt police officer that tries to discourage them from investigating a crime scene.

"Well, either way, this man's death was caused by the accident. That theory of yours on him being murdered before the trains collided is total garbage." Stone retorted.

"Yeah, right." William replied. "Say that again and in the next minute, you'll be seated in Chief Rogers' office and explaining to him on why you didn't ask your lieutenant to bring in the detectives from your division."

Before Stone could respond, an officer approached him from the wreckage with a bag containing what appeared to be a bullet.

"The transportation safety investigators found this bullet in the wreckage, sergeant. Thought you may want to call in the guys at the murder table to take a look at this." The officer said as he showed the bag to Stone.

Stone examined the bullet in the bag before tossing it into a nearby garbage bin, shocking the group of sleuths.

"What are you doing with the bullet?!" The teenage boy exclaimed. "That's evidence for murder!"

"Listen. Just because that bullet was discovered in the wreckage doesn't mean it was the bullet that killed the victim. In fact, last year, we responded to a shooting on a Metro train. One of the bullets were nowhere to be found, so this bullet may be the blasted bullet that was from last years shooting." Stone retorted. "Now get lost!"

* * *

 **That sure was one hostile encounter with the police. Wonder how will the gang be able to investigate the murder?**


	3. Introductions and the blood test

**After some thought, I've decided to split the second chapter into two smaller chapters here.**

* * *

Chapter 3: Introductions and a blood test

"I can't believe that police sergeant wouldn't listen to our theory that this man was murdered!" The Japanese boy raised his arms in frustration as they grouped together outside the station after they were ordered out by Stone. "He should have called in the detectives!"

"Yeah." William agreed. "That bullet clearly had traces of blood, and what does the mediocre do with it? Throw it away!"

"Like, the first thing I'm going to do is report Stone's conduct to the departmental board." Shaggy replied.

"No kidding, Shag." Daphne nodded. "Stone clearly shouldn't have been promoted to a rank of leadership, let alone carry a badge."

"It also looks like we're going to have to figure the case out ourselves." Velma added.

The Japanese boy nodded in agreement before speaking to William, "Say, you seem like you know your stuff on murder investigations. Have you investigated murders before?"

"As a matter a fact, yes." William nodded. "Oh, and I haven't quite catch your name, mate. Is your name..."

"Kudo Shinichi." The boy replied. "I'm a high school detective from Tokyo, Japan."

"And I'm his longtime friend, Mouri Ran." His friend added as she bowed at the group.

"Wait a minute: You mean, the famous Sherlock Holmes of the Heisei period of Japan, Kudo Shinichi?" Velma asked excitingly.

"That's me." Shinichi nodded as he pointed at himself.

"Wow. Looks like we've got three modern-day Sherlock Holmes here!" Fred remarked. "By the way, I'm Fred Jones."

Turning to the gang, he added, "And this is Velma Dinkley, Daphne Blake, Norville 'Shaggy' Rogers and Scoobert 'Scooby' Doo."

"The famous Mystery Inc." Ran added.

"You know us?" Daphne asked.

"Yes. We've read about your exploits in solving monster mysteries, and even in Japan, you people have a large fan base." Shinichi nodded.

"Like, that's interesting to know." Shaggy said.

Turning to Elizabeth, Shinichi said, "And we haven't caught your names, miss. We know that you and him are the Canadian Sherlock Holmes."

"Yes, we are." Elizabeth nodded. "My name is Elizabeth Jennifer Lee. I'm from Canada, but I also grew up in Hong Kong."

"And my name is William Walter Wu." William introduced himself. Speaking in Japanese, he added, " _我可以用日文來跟您溝通。請多多指教。_ " (I can communicate with you in Japanese. Pleased to meet you.)

He then proceeded to bow at Shinichi and Ran, both of them with surprised looks on their faces.

" _啊，您也會講日文啊?_ " (Ah, you can also speak Japanese?) Shinichi asked.

William nodded. " _我在京都出生。我在搬去加拿大之前也在東京和臺灣長大的，所以我也可以用中文和閩南語來溝通的。_ " (I was born in Kyoto, and before I moved to Canada, I grew up in Tokyo and Taiwan, so I can also communicate in Mandarin Chinese and Hokkien.)

" _原來如此。_ " (I see.) Shinichi nodded as he proceeded to shake William's hand.

During that time, Velma commented, "Jinkies! I didn't know William can speak Japanese fluently."

"Well, he grew up in Japan and his foster family is Japanese, so that's why." Elizabeth explained. Turning back to William, Shinichi and Ran, she added, "In the meantime, it will help if we can take a closer look at the body."

"I agree." Shinichi nodded. "The body can provide us more insight as to how the victim died. Perhaps we may even pick up a few more clues."

"Like, we never investigated murders before, other than a few failed attempts on someone's life." Shaggy said nervously.

"Don't worry about that, Shag." Daphne reassured him. "We've got three of the world's best detectives who may help us."

"That's right, given that this is the first time you guys came across a murder." William nodded in agreement. "Lizzy and I will be happy to assist you."

"Same here." Shinichi smiled as he and Ran both nodded in agreement. "But first things first, we're going to have to get our hands on that bullet."

"And there are officers around the premises, not allowing access to us." Ran said.

"I'm afraid that calls for strategy and a distraction." Fred said.

* * *

Moments later, only Stone and two officers were in the metro station as they prepared to wrap things up and have the body sent to the coroner's office. Just then, they heard a scream coming from a nearby dark alleyway.

"Murder!" A voice shouted.

"What?" Stone asked before turning to the officers and added, "We'd better go check that out."

"Yes, sarge." One of the officers nodded before racing over to the source of the scream.

As the officers exited the station, neither of them saw Shinichi and William sneaking back into the station.

As quick as a fox, the duo went over to the garbage bin and luckily for them, the garbage bag was only recently placed in the bin, thus they were able to pick up the evidence bag with the bullet.

" _找到了!_ " (Got it!) William said as he got the evidence bag with the bullet out from the trash.

" _很好。走吧!_ " (Good. Let's go!) Shinichi nodded as they quickly moved to the body, where William used a metal tab to draw a sample of the victims blood and placed it in a small evidence container in his utility belt.

" _你來這裡之前就已經準備好了。_ " (You sure came prepared.) Shinichi commented.

William nodded before he finished drawing the sample of blood and the duo quickly left the scene.

Over at the dark alleyway, the officers and Stone looked around, but there was no sign of anyone or a body.

"What the-?" Stone asked. "I could've sworn that there was someone crying murder here!"

"Maybe you shouldn't have drank the beer that was confiscated, sarge." One of the officers said.

"Whatever." Stone replied. "Let's go."

Unbeknownst to the officers, the gang, Elizabeth and Ran were watching them from behind a nearby corner and have overheard the conversation. Shaggy was the one that cried "Murder!" by throwing his voice towards dark alleyway, thus confusing Stone and the officers.

"No wonder Coolsville's in such a bad state." Elizabeth remarked when she overheard the officer's comment on confiscated beer.

"Like, no kidding." Shaggy agreed just as William and Shinichi returned with the bullet.

"You guys got the bullet?" Fred asked the returning sleuths.

"Yeah." William nodded before reaching into his utility belt and pulled out a device.

"What are you doing, Will?" Fred asked curiously as he watched William was doing.

William didn't respond as he passed the bullet to Elizabeth, who proceeds to give the gang a short explanation on what William is doing.

William then snapped on a pair of rubber gloves. Then, he activated the blood sample reading and comparison function of his mobile crime-scene investigation device.

Turning to Shinichi, William passed him a metal tab and said, "Take this and use it to take a sample of the victim's blood."

Shinichi nodded as he replied, "Exactly what I was planning on doing when I saw you with the device."

Wasting no time, the two sleuths got to work in drawing blood samples from both the body and the bullet. William then collected the tabs and inserted them into the blood sample readers of his mobile crime scene investigation device.

Leaning in to look, Elizabeth and Mystery Inc. glanced at the screen of the device as it compares the two blood samples. They were a match!

"Now what will Stone say about this?" Velma asked as they got the results in.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	4. Meeting with the chief of police

Chapter 4: Meeting with the chief of police

"What do you mean that it's still an 'accidental death'?" Shinichi asked.

"Listen." Stone said, clearly annoyed by the intrusion. "Just because the blood samples are a match doesn't mean that the bullet is the one that killed the victim, especially when you're telling me that toy came up with the conclusion. There are only four blood types in the world, and I mentioned that there was a shooting on the Metro train last year. There's a good chance that one of the victims in the shooting could've have the same blood type as the victim in this accident. Period!"

He then boarded his cruiser and left, leaving the kids fuming about his rejection of their latest proof.

" _你真的在開我的玩笑!_ " (You've got to be kidding me!) William remarked.

" _說的也是。_ " (You got that right.) Ran agreed.

"I sure will like to know how much more clues will we need to convince that sarge that this is murder." Shaggy remarked. "Imagine someone like him running the whole police department."

"I sure wouldn't want to imagine that, Shaggy." Daphne said. "The whole city could be upside down."

 **(Indeed, Daphne. In fact, if you guys want to find out what will a city be like if it's police force is under the command of Bronson Stone, just check out what your Dimension Three counterparts have to go through in Crystal Cove, where Bronson Stone is the sheriff)**

"Well, so as Velma mentioned before, we're going to have to figure this out ourselves." Fred said. "What will we have to do first?"

"First off, the evidence:" Shinichi began. "If you discover what appears to be evidence, particularly if it's the murder weapon, never, ever touch it with your bare hands. Always wear gloves."

William nodded as he showed them the pair of gloves he was wearing before saying. "Because the last thing you want is to get your fingerprints on the evidence and get the finger pointed towards you incorrectly and tainting the investigation."

He then proceeded to imitate a clueless investigator getting his own fingerprints on pieces of shattered glass at the scene of a murder and then the investigator's attempt to claim his innocence once the fingerprints on the shattered glass pointed the suspicion to him, earning several laughs from his friends as Velma made a note on that.

"Next, you've got to have a sharp mind and a keen eye." Elizabeth continued. "I know you guys already got those from your mystery-solving, but nonetheless it's important to possess those characteristics, since a keen eye helps you find clues and your sharp mind puts the pieces together."

"Third will be your deduction." Shinichi added. "From the evidence you've collected, put the pieces together and deduce. Sharpen it so it can flow with the truth, which there is only one."

The gang all nodded before Shaggy asked, "Like, what if there are still some loose ends and you can't straighten them out?"

"In that case, you'll have to make the culprit confess the truth." Shinichi said.

"Confess the truth?" Daphne asked. "How?"

"Simple. The key to getting a confession is the culprit's confidence." Shinichi replied. "Most killers are confident that you won't be able to crack the case, so they kept their mouths shut and not say a word. However, when they become overconfident, that's where things turn south on them."

"Right." William nodded. "I remember a case a year ago where a former chief inspector of the Ottawa police was found dead in a room with shattered glass, during which there was a protest outside his home and a brick was thrown into the house, which will make one think that the thrown brick was responsible for killing the former chief inspector after it hit his head."

"Yes." Elizabeth said. "However, there were signs that the victim was strangled and was already dead before the brick was thrown, which was done to divert suspicion. When Will and the police commissioner interviewed the chief inspector's former business partner, who was the culprit, and asked him questions, he was able to answer them correctly, that is, until William mentioned that the victim was already strangled to death before the brick was thrown, at which the partner said that he joined the protest and had thrown the brick to his house."

"That culprit's overconfidence was game over for him when I put the pieces together upon hearing that remark." William nodded.

 **(For more details on the case, stay tuned for my upcoming FictionPress story _The Case of the Broken Glass_ )**

"Overconfidence is the killer for culprits in getting away with their crimes. Got it." Shaggy nodded.

"So now that we have that out of the way, what's next?" Fred asked.

"First, we're going to have the bullet examined." Shinichi replied. "It could help us unlock the model of the gun."

"As well as tracing the victim's last steps prior to his demise on the metro train." William added. "I suppose there's a surveillance camera on the train car, right?"

"That, I can arrange it with my father." Daphne offered. "His company owns considerable stock in Coolsville Metro Authority."

"Right, and we're going to have to take a closer look at the victim's body." Elizabeth added. "Because I can't help but think that there's something peculiar about the nature of the wound."

"Stone did mention that nobody had heard a gunshot." Velma said.

"That could mean that someone had a muffler added on the gun barrel, preventing other passengers from hearing the gunshot." William nodded.

* * *

A short while later, the gang was at the ninth floor of the Coolsville Police Department headquarters, inside the office of the chief of police.

Chief of Police Samuel Chastain "Sam" Rogers listened silently as the sleuths gave him a resume on the case, as well as Sergeant Stone's refusal to call in the detectives at the homicide table of East Glensburg Division.

"Alright." The chief nodded. "I'll see to it that the technicians at the Science and Forensics Division lab have that bullet checked, and I can arrange you kids to go over to the coroner's office for the victim's body. However, for Sergeant Stone's conduct, I'm afraid there's little I can do about it."

"How come, Chief Rogers?" Fred asked.

"That son-of-a-gun's got protection from the police union." Sam replied. "The president of the union happens to be Lieutenant Francis Jones (Not related to District Attorney Jefferson 'Skip' Jones or his family), who is the cousin of Councilman Alice Dovely and has considerable influence over the police departmental board."

 **(Note: Francis Jones is a retconned version of Frederick Jones, Sr. from SDMI for Dimension One.)**

"Nuts." William remarked. "Are you telling us that any unfavourable action against Sergeant Stone, particularly disciplinary action, could wind up to City Hall and put your job in jeopardy, Chief Rogers?"

"That is the case, Mr. Wu." Sam nodded.

"Then, what should we do, Chief?" Shinichi asked.

"Just carry on with your investigation." Sam replied. "As for Sergeant Stone, pay no attention to anything he says. I'll deal with him."

"Like, thanks for the support, Pops." Shaggy says as their meeting is concluded.

"No problem." Sam replied. "I only hope you kids don't get into any trouble."

* * *

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	5. A split-up and foster cousins

Chapter 5: A split-up and foster cousins

After the meeting with the chief of police, the gang decided to split up.

William, Shinichi and Ran agreed to go to the coroners office, where the body of the victim is being examined by the coroner, while Mystery Inc. and Elizabeth stays at police headquarters for the examination of the bullet.

The trio heading for the coroner's office, with a written order from the chief of police, took the Mystery Machine with William behind the wheel.

 **(Mystery Inc. and Elizabeth)**

After the split-up, the gang were directed to Lieutenant Jonathan Tucker, who's in charge of the homicide unit of MCD and was briefed on the case by the chief. The lieutenant nodded and lead the gang to the Science and Forensics Division lab.

Over at the lab of the Science and Forensics Division, the group met with the technicians, who agreed to have the bullet examined.

"I still can't believe Stone will not call in the detectives for this." Fred says as they watched the technicians getting down to work.

"Yeah." Velma agreed. "I'm sure that even when you've got an accident, you still need the detectives to make the call."

"Like, especially for suspicious-looking deaths." Shaggy added. "And poor Pops has got to be careful when he deals with him."

"You said it, Shag." Daphne nodded. "No wonder my parents has been trying to use their influence in fighting hard to have this city cleaned up."

"I do hope your father figures out a way to have disciplinary action taken against Stone without getting a blowback, Shag." Elizabeth said.

"I hope so, too." Shaggy nodded. "Like, he's been trying hard to clean up the department ever since he was transferred to Coolsville as a lieutenant, but you've got those dirty cops and politics standing in his way."

"Indeed there has." Tucker nodded. "Your father worked really hard to get up the ladder, Norville. First, during his time as the detective commander of the East Coolsville Division as a lieutenant, his efforts were complicated by then-Chief of Police Gillian Hill and later following his promotion to captain and transfer to MCD, you've got then-Commander Milo Graham of Internal Affairs standing in his way. Then, as commander and later deputy chief, he's got Deputy Chief Rupert Gosnell, Commander of the Office of Strategic Management, standing in his way for reform and has continued to do so after he was passed over for promotion to chief in favour of your father last year."

"Jeepers." Daphne remarked. "I guess it's really tough to clean up house in the police department."

"Indeed it is." Tucker nodded.

It was then that the technicians informed them that the bullet has finished going through ballistics.

"Any results?" Elizabeth asked as they entered the workshop.

"Well, I can give you the type of gun that the bullet was fired from." The technician said before giving them the gun model. "However, whoever the killer was was smart enough to be wearing gloves while loading the gun, because the machine couldn't pick up any fingerprints from the bullet, and you know that to load the gun, you've got to press down hard on the bullet."

"Indeed you do." Elizabeth nodded. "And the sweat from your fingers is left behind on the casting, thus leaving behind your fingerprints on the casting."

"So what do we do?" Shaggy asked. "No fingerprints, we've got no one to pinpoint the murder to."

"Well, our next step will be to identify the victim and retrace his steps prior to his untimely demise on the metro train." Elizabeth replied.

"Oh, yes." Fred remembered. "We don't even know the victim's identity at all!"

"One important step in murder investigations is to know your victim." Elizabeth said as they followed the lieutenant to the squad room of MCD.

 **(William, Shinichi and Ran)**

Meanwhile, the Japanese-speaking trio were a few blocks away from the Coolsville County Coroner's Office with William driving behind the wheel.

" _你看起來對這個地方很熟悉，威廉。_ " (You look like you know this place, William.) Shinichi commented. " _你之前有來過骷史城嗎?_ " (You've been to Coolsville before?)

" _是的。_ " (Yes.) William nodded. " _五月的時候，我和珮玲的學校管絃樂團有來骷史城演奏。_ " (Me and Elizabeth's school orchestra have been to Coolsville in May to perform in a concert.)

" _我了解。_ " (I see.) Ran nodded understandingly as William pulled the Mystery Machine into a parking spot at the coroner's office.

Soon, the trio arrived at the morgue and are greeted by the coroner, who proceeds to do an autopsy on the body of the victim.

The autopsy took quite some time, but eventually, the coroner was able to prove that the victim was indeed shot and was dead before he was crushed in the derailment.

In addition, the coroner indicated some odd wounds around the bullet hole as if the victim was stabbed by various small needles while he was being shot.

At the mention of the wounds, William remembered a period drama television series following the exploits of a Victorian-era Toronto police detective that featured a similar crime scene where a man was shot while on the streetcar but witnesses didn't hear a gunshot.

"Those needles must be part of the muffler that muffled the gunshot noise." He thought to himself before sharing his thoughts with Shinichi, who nodded understandingly.

Eventually, after getting the evidence they needed from the autopsy, the sleuths were on their way back to police headquarters.

During the drive, Shinichi decided to ask William something.

" _威廉，我有一個問題想問你一下。_ " (William, I've got a question I wanted to ask you.) Shinichi said. " _是一個我對你好奇的一件事。_ " (It's something that I'm curious about you.)

William nodded before saying. " _是甚麼事?_ " (What is it?)

" _我們在地鐵站介紹自己的時候，伊莉莎白有提到你跟你的寄養父母一起住。_ " (When we introduced each other at the metro station, Elizabeth mentioned that you live with your foster parents.) Shinichi said. " _我很好奇您的親生父母是怎麼了。_ " (I'm curious about what has happened to your biological parents.)

William was silent when Shinichi asked him the personal question and didn't speak for a moment.

Seeing the situation, Ran quickly said, " _新一，你剛才不應該問威廉這種..._ " (Shinichi, you shouldn't have asked William this sort of...)

" _沒關係，蘭。_ " (It's okay, Ran.) William quickly said. " _沒關係。_ " (It's okay.)

Ran and Shinichi both looked at William as he collected his thoughts.

After taking a breath as they stopped at a red light, William finally said, " _我十歲的時候，我的親生父母在一場火災中不幸喪生。我有一個雙胞胎姊姊在那場火災中也是喪生了，但是她的遺體並沒被尋獲，所以目前她的下落不明。_ " (When I was ten, my parents perished in a fire. I've got an older twin sister who also perished in that same fire, but her body was never found, so it's still a mystery on her status.)

Both Shinichi and Ran gasped when William told them the news.

" _威廉，我聽到這消息感到遺憾。_ " (William, I'm so sorry to hear about it.) Shinichi said as he placed his hand on William's shoulder. " _你一定很震驚的!_ " (You must be devastated!)

" _的確如此。_ " (Indeed I was.) William nodded as the light turned green. " _一件值得注意的事是那場火災是人為縱火導致的。_ " (One thing worth noting is that the fire was caused by arson.)

" _人為縱火?_ " (Arson?) Ran asked.

" _警方有沒有抓到兇手?_ " (Did the police caught the culprit?) Shinichi added.

William nodded. " _有，但那是在火災發生後六年，也就是去年的事。而且那個案主要是由我和珮玲解的。_ " (Yes, but that was six years after the fire, which is last year. Besides, Lizzy and I were mainly the ones that solved the case.)

He then proceeded to do a short but brief resume on the case, as well as mentioning that his foster parents are Jonathan and Sandra Kudo. However, at the mention of the names, Shinichi become excited.

" _等等，你說的工藤資紀是我住在加拿大的叔父!_ " (Wait, the Jonathan Kudo you mentioned is my uncle that is living in Canada!) Shinichi said excitedly.

William raised his eyebrows in surprise. " _所以照你這麼說，你是我的寄養堂哥!_ " (So based on what you're saying, you're my foster cousin!)

Shinichi nodded as he patted William's back. " _我沒有想到兩個著名的青年名偵探會有關係的。_ " (I've never thought that two famous teenage detectives could be related to each other.)

" _說不定報紙上會說我成為一位名偵探是受到我的寄養堂哥的影響。_ " (I suppose that the press will comment that I became a famous detective under the influence of my foster cousin.) William joked.

Both Shinichi and Ran laughed as the Mystery Machine approaches police headquarters.

* * *

 **Please read and review!**


	6. At the station house

Chapter 6: At the station house

Soon, the gang regrouped at the offices of Major Crimes Division as the detectives identified the victim.

"Has the victim been identified?" William asked as they regrouped.

"As a matter a fact, yes." Lieutenant Tucker nodded. "His name is Detective III Grade Anthony Strickland, assigned to the East Glensburg Division's homicide table."

"A detective murdered?" Shinichi asked.

"Yes." The lieutenant nodded. "His next of kin has been notified, and his colleagues at the division are mourning his death from the accident."

"Wait, you mentioned that Strickland is assigned to the East Glensburg Division, lieutenant." Elizabeth snapped her fingers. "That's the division Stone is assigned to!"

"And he was hostile towards us when we said that Strickland was murdered." Fred added. "He insisted that Strickland was killed by the accident."

"Sounds like you kids are going to have to take a trip to the East Glensburg station house." The lieutenant said. "However, I want you kids to be very careful. Strickland had several run-ins with Internal Affairs during his service, and there are cops out there who'd be only happy to defy the chief and want no one else meddling around."

"No worries, lieutenant." Velma assured him. "We had our run-ins with corrupt Big City police before and we'll keep our guard."

 **(For more information of their run-in with the Big City Police Department, stay tuned for my upcoming story _Coolsville Central: The Mystery Machine_ , which will feature a thrilling and more serious take on the gang obtaining the Mystery Machine)**

* * *

Soon, the Mystery Machine pulled up at the station house and the gang proceeded to enter.

As they walked into the station house, Shaggy and Scooby narrowed their eyes as they saw hostile looks from nearby officers.

"There are those meddling kids again!" One of the officers can be heard remarking as they watched the sleuths enter.

"Yeah." Another officer nodded. "I sure will like to know why the Man is continuing his support of those meddling kids."

William crossed his arms as he and the gang faced the watch sergeant, who was giving them a hostile look.

"What do you kids think you're doing here?" The sergeant asked. "Unless you're here to report something, get lost right now!"

"Well, we're here to interview anyone close to the late-Detective Strickland." Fred said. "He was the victim in the light metro accident, and Stone said that he was killed by the accident."

"Detective Strickland, eh?" The sergeant asked. "Well, Internal Affairs have already interviewed the detective commander and Strickland's partner, so you kids aren't needed here. Now..."

Just as the watch sergeant was about to order them out, a voice cut in and shouted, "Sergeant Ewell! That's enough! Let them in."

The gang turned and saw the detective commander of the division glaring at the watch sergeant as the former made his way towards them.

"Like, thanks, lieutenant." Shaggy said as they joined the lieutenant.

The lieutenant nodded as he lead the gang to his office. Along the way, Shaggy looked around and braced for any possible encounters with Stone.

After entering the office, the lieutenant pulled the blinds down and closed the door.

"Lieutenant Jerry Welker, EGD. I see that you kids are also checking out Detective Strickland's death, huh?" The lieutenant asked as he faced the gang after introducing himself.

"That's right, lieutenant." Fred nodded. "We know that he was shot before the collision, but Stone insisted that he died as a result of being crushed in the accident."

"Stone, huh?" The lieutenant asked. "He sure is always looking for trouble, but sadly the chief can't do anything about him due to his ties with the union and city hall."

William nodded before asking, "So lieutenant, can you tell us more about Strickland? Lieutenant Tucker mentioned that he had several run-ins with Internal Affairs during his service."

"Yes." The lieutenant nodded. "He wasn't exactly a model police officer, like many others on the force. He has a tendency to bend the rules and has engaged in a handful of rackets and accepting bribes during cases, often being bribed to look a different way, and Internal Affairs never did its job in rooting him out."

Then, lowering his voice, Welker added, "I don't trust Internal Affairs in handling his death, kids. There's always crooked officers that pretend to police their own, but in reality, before your father came on, Mr. Rogers, it was used as a tool to enforce the ways of quiet bribery and silence officers that tried to go straight or challenge the narrative."

"Like, things sure haven't changed." Shaggy nodded. "Not even after the police brutality case from last year did they fully clean up the house in Internal Affairs."

 **(Note: For more details on the case in question, stay tuned for my upcoming story _Coolsville Central: The Mystery Machine_ , which as mentioned above, will cover how the gang got the Mystery Machine)**

"So what was he like in the past few days, lieutenant?" Shinichi asked. "Was something bothering him?"

"Well, he seemed moody." The lieutenant replied. "Two days ago, he and his partner Detective Weldon caught a homicide case that had a connection to another case he failed to clear last year, in terms for location."

"Oh, what is it about?" Fred asked, raising an eyebrow.

Before Welker could reply, he received a phone call.

As the lieutenant answers the phone call, William said. "A murdered police detective with previous run-ins with Internal Affairs, who the lieutenant doesn't trust. I've got a feeling this case is going to get ugly with all this stuff about police corruption here in Coolsville."

"No kidding." Velma agreed. "It's going to be a matter of time before someone decides that we've gone too deep in this case and will only be too happy to put us out of the way."

"Which is also why we've got to be careful." Shinichi said. "I could've sworn this city's police force is as bad as any police force in any third-world country where corruption is rampant."

It was then that the lieutenant finished his phone call.

"Sorry, kids." Welker said. "I've got a crime scene to check out. Why don't you continue your search for answers by starting with Detective Weldon?"

"Sounds like a good idea to me, lieutenant." Fred agreed.

As the kids left the office, Shinichi said, "We've got a lot of ground to cover for this one."

"Indeed." Daphne agreed. "We have to know what Strickland was going through, including details on the latest case he and his partner handled, and we've got to check his records in Internal Affairs, whom he had several run-ins with in the past."

"I think it will be best if we split up." William suggested. "Lizzy, Fred, Velma and Daphne, you guys stay with me here at the station house to interview Detective Weldon, while Shinichi, Ran, Shag and Scooby, you guys go back to police headquarters and check out Strickland's file at Internal Affairs. The latter could give us a good clue on what he was up to, besides there's a good chance that his involvement in those rackets may have a connection to his untimely demise on the metro."

"Good idea, cousin." Shinichi agreed.

"So where do we meet up once we're done?" Shaggy asked.

William turned to his foster cousin and Fred before the latter replied, "We'll meet up in the Mystery Machine, Shag."

"Good. Now let's get to work." Shinichi said as the gang split up.

* * *

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	7. Diving further deeper

Chapter 7: Diving further deeper

 **(Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shinichi and Ran)**

After Shaggy, Scooby, William and Elizabeth took the Mystery Machine and left the station house to return to police headquarters, the others were introduced to Detective Shaun Weldon, who was seated at his desk. From what Lieutenant Welker told them before he left, Weldon is the junior partner of Strickland.

"So you kids are having questions related to Anthony's death, huh?" Weldon asked as the lieutenant left.

"That's right, Detective Weldon." Velma nodded. "Lieutenant Welker mentioned that you guys had caught a case a few days ago and he was becoming moody after that."

"We were wondering about what was that case about." Fred added.

Weldon nodded before speaking.

"It was the murder of a civil rights attorney named Donald Clay, who had previously sued the department for brutality countless times before." The detective sighed. "Anthony was partnered with a detective from Internal Affairs for the case."

"And he had a lot of run-ins with Internal Affairs during his service." Shinchi interjected.

"That's right." Weldon nodded. "He wasn't very happy about the assignment, nor was he happy with the case, but he didn't have much of a choice, as it was Deputy Chief Harold Briggs that made the decision to have him partnered with Detective James Roven, the guy from Internal Affairs who had investigated him before."

"Jinkies." Velma remarked. "No wonder he was moody in the days leading to his untimely demise."

"I can tell." Weldon agreed.

 **(Shaggy, Scooby, William and Elizabeth)**

Meanwhile, on the way back to police headquarters, William asked Shaggy about the bullet.

"Did they get the model of the gun in which the bullet was fired from, Shaggy?" He asked.

"Like, yeah." Shaggy nodded. "The killer was smart in not leaving behind any fingerprints, but the model of the gun used in the murder is the one authorized by the department for duty carry by its officers."

"Uh oh." Elizabeth remarked. "I'm not liking the sound of this at all."

"Me neither." William agreed as Shaggy and Scooby nodded in agreement. "Either one of the officers is the murderer or someone stole the weapon from an officer and used it to murder Detective Strickland."

"With this thing about the lieutenant's mistrust of the department's Internal Affairs, I won't be surprised if one of the officers was the killer." Shaggy said.

There was some silence in the Mystery Machine after the last remark before Elizabeth decided to change the channel.

"By the way, I heard that Daphne's 17th birthday is coming up soon." She said to Shaggy and Scooby.

"Like, yeah." Shaggy nodded. "Scoob and I got a surprise for her."

"What is it?" William asked.

"Like, it's going to be a party." Shaggy replied. "With a chamber orchestra performing."

"Wow." William remarked. "Sounds good for me, and I'm sure Daphne will like it."

"I think the better thing for us to do is clear this case before her birthday." Elizabeth suggested.

"Great idea." William agreed. "Last thing I want is having this case still in our minds during her birthday celebration."

It was then that they arrived back at police headquarters.

Swiftly, the four got off the van and headed into the building, anxious on what they might discover or encounter.

* * *

 **(Fred, Velma, Daphne, Shinichi and Ran)**

Back in the station house, the others continued with their interview with Weldon.

In spite of the younger detective's close association with Strickland, he disapproved of his partner's involvement in dirty work and suspected that his partner's death may have something to do with his involvement with his rackets.

"So what was the gunshot like?" Weldon then asked. "Was it right through the chest from the back to the front?"

"That's right." Fred nodded. "Stone insisted that he was killed after being crushed between the two trains."

"That guy is always looking for trouble." Weldon shook his head in disapproval. "I just hope that the chief figures out a way to get rid of that parasite without getting a blow back from City Hall."

"Say, Detective." Velma said. "Do you think that he may be involved in the death somehow? Perhaps the reason why he refused to let us through is because of his involvement in the murder?"

"Well, I have to say that while that guy can be a real jerk, he will never cross the line of murdering a fellow officer." Weldon replied as he folded his arms.

The sleuths looked at each other before Shinichi suggested. "Perhaps it will help if we can take a look at the case file of the Clay murder case, Detective. Maybe he was on to something that got him murdered."

"Sure." Weldon nodded. "You can have a look of the murder book, but I doubt you might find anything useful to the case."

The detective then took the murder book and handed it over to the sleuths.

* * *

 **(Shaggy, Scooby, William and Elizabeth)**

Meanwhile in police headquarters, the four sleuths were in the office of Internal Affairs, accompanied by Tucker.

A detective was seated at the reception desk at the front, and when he saw the approaching sleuths and the lieutenant, he frowned.

"How may I help you?" The detective asked.

"You'll be doing us a favour if we can get a copy of Detective Strickland's Internal Affairs file, Detective Miles." Tucker said.

"Let me guess: You're investigating Strickland's untimely demise, huh?" Miles asked before snorting and added. "Well, we've already investigated the death, and there's nothing suspicious about the circumstances behind his death. You're only wasting your own time, Lieutenant."

"And this detective is supposed to be policing his own." William thought to himself as he folded his arms.

"Look here, Detective." Tucker said. "I don't have time to deal with your behaviour. Something's not right about the circumstances behind Strickland's death, and we're here to find out what has happened. If you continue to insist that there's nothing wrong, then be my guest, man."

"Unless you want to end up finding yourself explaining to the chief how you let a bunch of 'meddling kids' completing your job and get all the credit." William interjected.

"Like, my father may be very supportive of the gang and us in meddling, Detective Miles." Shaggy added. "But you should know that there's a method behind his madness. He actually wants to make sure that this department fulfills its job in keeping the city safe without the need of our 'meddling'. So unless you want us to continue meddling, you can start with telling us who should we go to for Stickland's file."

There was some silence from the Internal Affairs detective. Finally, he relented.

"To tell you the truth, I myself am suspicious about the circumstances behind Detective Strickland's death." Miles confessed. "Don't get me wrong, I wasn't a fan of what he had done during his service, but he was a classmate of mine while we were in the academy and was good friends with his brother. I'm sure he will like to know what really happened to Anthony."

Elizabeth nodded before saying, "Do you know who has Detective Strickland's file, Detective Miles?"

"Yes. His partner in his latest case: Detective James Roven." Miles replied before pointing down a certain direction and added. "His cubicle is right down that way."

"Thank you, Detective." Tucker nodded before they carried on down.

The five soon came upon a cubicle with Detective Roven's name on the wall, only to find it unoccupied at the moment.

"I wonder where is that detective?" William wondered.

* * *

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